Feed-drum for pneumatic elevators



6. AND J. BERNER.

FEED DRUM FOR PNEUMATIC ELEVATORS.

A PPLICATION FILED DEC-5, I914.

Patented; July 13, 1920;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE IBERNERT AND JACOB BERNERT, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASS-IGNORS TO BERNER'I MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 015 I/IILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A COR- PORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

FEED-DRUM FOR PNEUMATIC ELEVATORS.

Application filed December 5, 1914.

To (all whom. it may concern:

Bo'it known thatwe, Gnonon BERNERT and Jacor. BERNERT, both citizens of the United States, and residents of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of VVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fecd'Drums for Pneumatic Elevators; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

(Jur invention has for its primary object to provide a simple, economical and effective means for positively introducing granular or disintegrated substances into the valvecontrolled trunk of a pneumatic elevator mechanism, the said substances embodying grains or like material. The pneumatic elevator mechanism utilized in conjunction with our present invention is similar to that disclosed in our U. S. Patents No. 1033865, July 30, 1912, No. 9778 19 and NO. 1002556.

The specific object of our present invention is to provide a vertically positioned feed drum for such elevators wherein friction is reduced to a minimum and the grain or other product being operated upon is thus discharged into the trunk with but one change of general direction. Hence the amount of power required for the feed is reduced to a minimum and at the same time a uniform and constant feed is insured to relieve the pneumatic force employed from variations in duty with the result that said force can be economically employed to deliver grain at greater distances.

Another object of our invention is to simplify the details of construction of the feed drum, whereby an efficient and durable device is produced at a low cost in manufacture.

With the above objects in view the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts as set forth. hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings- Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of a feed mechanism embodying the features of our invention, the section being indicated by lines 1-1 of Figs. 2 and 3;

Fig. 2, a detailed side elevation of the upper portion of a feed mechanism showing the gear connections, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 1920.

Serial No. 875,556.

Fig. 3, a detailed cross-section of the drum, the section being indicated by line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring by characters to the drawings, 1 represents a pneumatic elevator trunk leading from a fan casing 2, whereby the air pressure is generated and discharged into the trunk, which trunk is provided with a grain receiving aperture 3. The aperture 3 has fitted thereover a valve-box i flanged at its upper edge for the reception of a corresponding flange 5' of a vertically disposed boot 5 which is rectangular in cross-section to correspond to the rectangular mouth of the valve-box 4, the front wall 4' of said valve-box being flared forwardly in the di rection of travel of grain through the trunk. The boot is integrally cast with a vertically disposed drum 6, the circular bore of which intersects the rectangular bore of the boot.

The rear wall of the boot 5 is provided with an obliquely disposed integral gland 7 which constitutes a guide for a valve-controlled stem 8 that projects therethrough. The inner end of said valve stem is in hinged connection with a horizontally positioned flap valve 9, which flap valve is hinged at its rear edge to a rectangular one-piece skeleton valve-plate 10. the said plate being fitted between the valveboX flange and boot flange and confined therebetween by retaining bolts 11, which serve to clamp the three elements together.

The outer end of the valve stem 8 is provided with a washer and nut 8, between which members and the end of the boot gland a coiled spring 7 is interposed to yieldingly support the flap valve in its closed position whereby the trunk is normally cut off from the feed cylinder 6.

The feed cylinder 6 is flanged at its upper end and closed by a head 12 having a central hub projecting therefrom for the reception of one end of a shaft 13, the opposite lower end of which shaft is stepped into a boss 14' that forms part of an arm 14, which arm is blade-"like in cross-section whereby it offers the least resistance to grain traveling through the cylinder to the boot portion thereof, it being understood that the said arm is secured to the upper portion of the rear wall of the boot by suitable webs. The shaft 13 carries a spiral conveyer blade 15, which. extends from the dr'um is tangential to its line of travel through said drum, whereby friction is eliminated to a maximum. It will also be seen that the upper end of the drum is clear of obstructions between the last flight of the spiral blade and the drum head to thus form a grain receiving cavityivhereby grain entering the nozzle 16 is not liable to back up 'or choke in its downward feed movement.

The end of the shaft 1'3 projects beyond the head and'carries a beveled gear-wheel 17 for meshed engag ment with a beveled gear-wheel 17 which is fast upon a transversely disposed countershaft 18 the same being journaled in boxes which form terminals of arms 19 that constitute part of the drum head. The front wall of the boot has securedthereto ears 20 of a barrel 20, which barrel incases and forms ajournztl box for a drive-shaft 21, the same being provided with a pulley 21 at one end for belt gear connection to the fan-shaft 2. A

sprocket-wheel 21? is fast to the opposite end of the drive-shaft for belt gear connection to a larger sprocket-wheel 22, which is fast upon the counter-shaft 18.

From the foregoing description it is ob-- vious that the grain or other product to be conveyed can be elevated from a lower plane tothe mouth of the drum'nozzle 16 by any suitable elevator mechanism, not shown, which elevator mechanism in practice is preferably of the bucket type. After the grain has been deposited in the nozzle 16 in desired quantities; it is manifest that the spiral blade 15 will sustain the gravity load and gradually permit said grain to be fed in a uniform stream to the boot therebelow and when the boot is entirely filled, the action of the spiral blade exerting force thereon will cause the valve 9 to open in opposition to a spring pressure whereby a uniform quantity will be continuously forced into the air trunk 1 the valve 9 preventing any back leakage of air therefrom which would other- Hence it is apparent that wise impair the pneumatic feed through the munication with the air duct above the path of the air current therein, a valve pivotally mounted within the feed conveyer casin adjacent its point of communication witn the air duct, and a conveyer extending longitudinally in the feeder casing and engaging work material therein to feed said work material toward thevalve, said valve extending transversely across the casing and being intersected by the major'axis of the casing in closed position of said valve whereby to receive direct thrust pressure of the work material in the casing by pressure eXerted'by said feeding means.

2.- Ina pneumatic conveying apparatus, the combination ofa conveying air duct, means for procuring a pressure current of air through said duct, an elongated feed conveyer casing having one end in communication with the air duct above the path of the air current therein, a Valve pivotally mounted within the feed 'conveyer casing adjacent its point of communication with the air duct, said valve extending transversely across the casing, and a spiral conveyer in the feeder casing having its axis intersecting the plane of the valve when closed. 7 y

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE BERNERT.

JACOB BERNERT. Witnesses l Geo. W. YOUNG, M. Downer. 

